4 Hip Opener Stretches to Release Stress and Emotion (+ video)

“We hold stress and negative emotions—such as fear, guilt, and sadness—in our pelvis. For this reason alone, Snyder believes it’s particularly important to do poses that move prana (life force) through that area. “You know your junk drawer at home?” she asks. “The pelvis is like the body’s junk drawer. Whenever you don’t know what to do with a feeling or experience, you put it there.” – San Francisco vinyasa teacher Stephanie Snyder

Your hips and pelvis are known to be tight with emotion. Many people have burst into tears when moving through hip opener stretches, especially in yoga practice. There’s a reason it feels so good to release the tension, not only for your muscles, but for your mind.

As you know, I believe we hold emotion in our bodies that can manifest physically. Emotions are energy. When they are not released, they become stuck energy in your body that can morph into tightness or pain.